Located 45 minutes’ drive southwest of Brussels, Enghien is famous for straddling the linguistic border. While it is located in the French-speaking region of Wallonia, several streets to the north-west of the town centre are in the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. Beyond this peculiarity, the town is best known for its Parc d’Enghien, considered one of the most beautiful parks in Europe at the time of its construction in the 17th century. Although the park has been reduced in size and significantly modified, the most remarkable feature to survive is undoubtedly the Pavillon des Sept Étoiles, or Seven Stars Pavilion.
Hidden in the heart of the forest, the pavilion is a white and grey heptagonal kiosk set in the centre of a circular pond. It was built around 1661 at the park’s highest point, intended to serve as an observation point for stargazing. Its name, Seven Stars, refers to “the seven planets known at the time”. However, a correction is necessary: at the time of its construction, only six planets were known. The seventh was probably the Sun.
Each of its seven arches opens onto a park path lined with a different species of tree. The seven paths were separated by seven smaller paths ending with a statue representing one of the seven “planets”. Over the years, this layout around the pavilion disappeared, and the pavilion became hidden under a thick forest.
At the end of the 1990s, during the pavilion’s restoration, the decision was made to replant the site according to its original design. Today, you can walk along avenues of hornbeam trees that form a heptagon with a 125-meter radius around the pavilion, just as they did in the 17th century.
The pavilion’s construction reflects the widespread enthusiasm for astronomical discoveries at the time, including among the aristocracy, fueled by the works of Galileo and Copernicus. Classified as a monument and historic site since 1972, it is also included on the List of Exceptional Heritage Sites in Wallonia.
